The immigrant workers of Suffolk have good reason to celebrate – at least for now. A county legislator, who acts as chief of the Long Island campaign for the presidential candidate Barack Obama, will announce the repeal today of a plan that would demand all businesses with licenses in the area register themselves in E-Verify, a federal system that checks employee information.

The legislator Jon Cooper confirmed yesterday with El Diario/La Prensa that on June 26, at 10a.m. he will begin to remove the initiative known as IR 1538 that was submitted on June 10.

“In light of all the information I have received in the past week about the problems of E-Verify, and given that there are too many discrepancies in the Social Security data system, I’m going to repeal the plan ,” said Cooper.

Cooper was the main critic for the Hispanic community, a sector of the electorate that dispute over Obama and the Republican candidate John McCain.

Nevertheless, the democratic legislator insisted that it was never his intention to promote a discriminatory law. “I’m not anti-immigrant, but neither am I pro-illegal immigration. I only try to be fair,” Cooper added.

The legislator stressed that he has made his decision at a moment when, for the first time, employers, community activists and union leaders have adopted a common stance over a very complex issue, as shown by the conclusion that E-Verify “is unjust towards workers and employers” he specified.

He estimates that the measure “A Local Law to Establish E-Verify Requirements for Occupational Licenses” was going to impact 17,000 businesses that have licenses to operate in the area.

Luis Valenzuela of the Long Island Immigration Alliance celebrated the step that Cooper will make. “We are seeing that he has thought over a law that divides workers and puts them at risk, whether they are immigrants or citizens,” he ensured.

“We are united with him (Cooper) and help him to work with other activists who have exposed the weaknesses of E-Verify,” Valenzuela explained.

Not withstanding, the community leader remembered that Cooper promoted a similar measure although of a more limited scope. Valenzuela was referring to IR1479 that required particular businesses with country contracts – approximately 6,000 – to verify information of new employees.

Cooper stated that it is a pilot plan that will have to be evaluated after 18 months in order to determine whether it has worked or not. He emphasized that it will only apply to new contracts. Approximately 18,000 Hispanics reside in Suffolk.

Why revoke IR1538?

* A study revealed 17.8 million discrepancies in the Social Security data system.

* Many employers have fired their workers after receiving notification from Social Security without undertaking exhaustive revisions.

* E-Verify would affect businesses in Suffolk where immigrant workers are crucial.